Customizing a software application based on a user&#39;s familiarity with the software application

ABSTRACT

A software program is executed, the software program requiring one or more physical interactions with a user through an input/output (I/O) device, wherein each of the one or more physical interactions includes respective predefined dimensions indicating a proficiency in performing one of the one or more physical interactions. The one or more physical interactions are tracked. A familiarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactions is generated based on the respective predefined dimensions for each of the one or more physical interactions. The software program is customized based on the familiarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of tailoringcontent that is presented to a user of a computer system, and moreparticularly presenting customizing a software program for the userbased on a metrics indicating the user's proficiency or familiarity withthe computer system, the software program, as well as other softwareprograms that are similar to the software program.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems, methods, andcomputer program products for customizing a software application basedon a user's familiarity with the software program. A software program isexecuted, the software program requiring one or more physicalinteractions with a user through an input/output (I/O) device, whereineach of the one or more physical interactions includes respectivepredefined dimensions indicating a proficiency in performing one of theone or more physical interactions. The one or more physical interactionsare tracked. A familiarity profile for each of the one or more physicalinteractions is generated based on the respective predefined dimensionsfor each of the one or more physical interactions. The software programis customized based on the familiarity profile for each of the one ormore physical interactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a customization system, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating operational steps for generating anoverall familiarity metric for a particular software program, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operational steps for monitoringinteraction dimensions for a category of interactions performed by auser on a particular software program, in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for generating an overall familiarity metric,in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of internal and external components of thecomputer systems of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 depicts a cloud computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 depicts abstraction model layers, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A computer system, such as mobile device, can include a number ofsoftware programs (e.g., an operating system, a text messaging service,web browser, a picture sharing application, etc.) and can receiveinteractions. A user of a computer system can perform tasks byinteracting with software programs of the computer system. A pluralityof interactions can be performed by a user with a software program, suchthat the software program processes the interactions to accomplish atask.

Interactions performed by a user with a software program may indicate auser's familiarity with the software program. For example, wheninteracting with an e-mail application, a first user may send an e-mailby navigating a user interface (UI) of the e-mail application, providingcontent (e.g., a typed message, file attachments, picture attachments,etc.) for the e-mail, and designating at least one recipient for thee-mail. Whereas, a second user may first reference a help menu of thee-mail application, navigate the UI of the e-mail application for alonger time duration, provide content for the e-mail, and designate therecipient for the e-mail, but only provides a local portion of an e-mailaddress without the domain portion of the e-mail address. Accordingly,the first user's interactions indicate that the first user is familiarwith the e-mail application, compared to the second user's interactionswhich indicate that the second user is not familiar with the e-mailapplication. The first user may find that tutorials and prompted helptooltips hinder on the first user's experience and usability wheninteracting with the e-mail application. Whereas, the second user mayrequire additional tutorials and prompted help tooltips to improve onthe second user's experience and usability when interacting with thee-mail application.

Familiarity profiles may be generated for users based on userintegrations with an application. Familiarity profiles that aregenerated for the first user may indicate that the first user isfamiliar with the e-mail application, and familiarity profiles that aregenerated for the second user may indicate that the user is not familiarwith the e-mail application. It may be advantageous to provide asoftware program to a user of a computer system that is customized basedon a user's familiarity profile for a software program. Developers ofsoftware programs can use familiarity profiles as a feedback metric toimprove future releases the software programs.

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, systems, andcomputer program products for generating user familiarity profiles foreach program software of a computer system. Embodiments of the presentinvention provide the user with program software that have beencustomized to improve a user's experience with the program software,based on the user's familiarity profiles.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of customization system 100, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Customizationsystem 100 includes client computer system 110 and computer system 130,interconnected via network 120. Client computer system 110 and computersystem 130 can be desktop computers, laptop computers, specializedcomputer servers, or any other computer systems known in the art. Incertain embodiments, client computer system 110 and computer system 130represent computer systems utilizing clustered computers and componentsto act as a single pool of seamless resources when accessed throughnetwork 120. In certain embodiments, client computer system 110 andcomputer system 130 represent virtual machines. In general, clientcomputer system 110 and computer system 130 are representative of anyelectronic devices, or combination of electronic devices, capable ofexecuting machine-readable program instructions, as described in greaterdetail with regard to FIG. 5. Customization system 100 can include agreater or lesser number of computer systems similar to that of clientcomputer system 110 and computer system 130 that are connected vianetwork 120. In other embodiments, client computer system 110 andcomputer system 130 may be implemented in a cloud computing environment,as described in greater detail with regard to FIGS. 6 and 7.

Network 120 can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, andinclude wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network120 can be any combination of connections and protocols that willsupport communications between client computer system 110 and computersystem 130, in accordance with a desired embodiment of the invention.

Client computer system 110 represents a platform that processesinteractions performed by a user, such that the user can interact withsoftware programs 112 to accomplish desired tasks. An “interaction,” ora physical interaction, as used herein, refers to a category of actionperformed by a user on client computer system 110 and componentstherein. For example, interactions can include: user input, help usage,error recovery, task completion, and tutorial completion, as describedin greater detail below.

Client computer system 110 can be configured with a display device, suchas a touch screen display, that displays a user interface (UI) of one ofsoftware programs 112. Client computer system 110 can be equipped withother peripheral devices, such as a keyboard, microphones, headphonesand speakers, accelerometers and tilt-sensors, cameras, gamecontrollers, image scanners, projectors, printers, digitizingfunctionality, and other input and output peripheral devices.

Software programs 112 represent computer programs configured to performa group of coordinated functions, tasks, or activities for a user.Classifications of software programs 112 can include: operating systemsthat manage hardware resources of client computer system 110 and provideservices to other software programs 112, business software (e.g., wordprocessors, spreadsheets, etc.), enterprise software (e.g., resourceplanning systems, supply chain management software, etc.), contentaccess software (e.g., social media applications, web browsers, filesharing applications, etc.), educational software, simulation software,media development software, and entertainment software (e.g., videogames, media players, etc.).

Two software programs 112 may be considered related, if both softwareprograms 112 are in the same category and have similar primaryfunctions. In one example, two software programs 112, such as twodifferent media players, may be considered related because the twosoftware programs 112 are in the same category (i.e., entertainmentsoftware), and share similar primary functions (e.g., play recordedmedia). In another example, two software programs 112, such as a mediaplayer and a video game, may not be considered related, even though bothsoftware programs 112 are entertainment software, because they do notshare similar primary functions. In one embodiment, two softwareprograms 112 may be considered related if each of software programs 112have the same or closely related developers. For example, a holdingcompany may develop a first software program 112, such as a wordprocessor, and a subsidiary company of the holding company may develop asecond software program 112 such as a file sharing application. In thisexample, the word processor and the file sharing application may beconsidered related because the developers of the first and secondsoftware programs 112 are closely related (i.e., part of aconglomerate), even though both software programs 112 are underdifferent categories.

Computer system 130 represents a platform that retrieves and processesinformation from client computer system 110. In this embodiment,computer system 130 includes monitoring module 132, familiarity module134 and customization module 136. In another embodiment, components ofcomputer system 130 can be included in client computer system 110. Inyet another embodiment, components of computer system 130 can be a partof more than one computer system 130, such that each computer system 130is configured to exchange information through network 120.

Monitoring module 132 represents program functionality for receiving andtracking interactions performed by a user on each of software programs112. Monitoring module 132 monitors interaction dimensions for eachinteraction performed by a user on a particular software program 112. An“interaction dimension,” or a predefined dimension as used herein refersto an attribute of an interaction, indicating a user's proficiency inperforming the interaction.

For example, monitoring module 132 can monitor interaction dimensionsfor an interaction, such as user input, where the interaction dimensionsmay include: a user's typing speed, a user's typing accuracy, and auser's typing method (e.g., predictive text input, gestures, etc.).Monitoring module 132 can monitor interaction dimensions for aninteraction, such as help usage, where the interaction dimensions mayinclude: a frequency of referencing a help menu, time spent referencingthe help menu, complexity of topics referenced in help menu. Monitoringmodule 132 can monitor interaction dimensions for an interaction, suchas error recovery, where the interaction dimensions may include: amethod used for error recovery, frequency of contacting technicalsupport. Monitoring module 132 can monitor interaction dimensions for aninteraction, such as task completion, where the interaction dimensionsmay include: a number of tasks completed, a number of functions utilizedby a user, a time duration to complete each a pre-defined task. Forexample, a time duration may include a start time where one of softwareprogram 112 becomes a focus window of an operating system, and an endtime where a pre-defined task is completed. Monitoring module 132 canmonitor interaction dimensions for an interaction, such as tutorialcompletion, where the interaction dimensions may include: a timeduration to complete a tutorial, a user's accuracy while completing atutorial, a number of times a tutorial was referenced after an initialcompletion. In this embodiment, monitoring module 132 stores interactiondimension information in a storage repository of computer system 130.

Familiarity module 134 represents program functionality for generating afamiliarity profile for each interaction performed by a user on each ofsoftware programs 112. A “familiarity profile,” as used herein,indicates a user's familiarity for an interaction with one of softwareprograms 112. In this embodiment, familiarity module 134 processes thestored interaction dimension information to generate a familiarityprofile for each interaction performed by a user. For example,interaction dimension information for an interaction, such as userinput, can indicate a user's typing speed is 45 words/minute, a user'styping accuracy is 78% (based on a number of times a typo was correctedeither through autocorrect, or manually by the user), and a user'styping method involves one advanced function (e.g., predictive textinput). Accordingly, familiarity module 134 processes stored interactiondimension information for each interaction to generate one familiarityprofile.

Once familiarity module 134 generates a user's familiarity profile,familiarity module 134 generates an overall familiarity metric of theuser for software program 112. An “overall familiarity metric,” as usedherein, refers to a value generated by familiarity module 134 thatindicates a user's overall familiarity with one of software programs112. For example, a user's overall familiarity metric for a firstsoftware program 112 may be greater than the user's second overallfamiliarity metric for a second software program 112, indicating thatthe user is more familiar with the first software program 112 comparedto the second software program 112. In this embodiment, familiaritymodule 134 generates a user's familiarity metric for each softwareprogram 112 that the user interacts with, based on the user'sfamiliarity profiles, as described in greater detail below. Familiaritymodule 134 can store generated familiarity profiles and generatedoverall familiarity metrics in a storage repository of computer system130.

In one example, for a user interacting with a particular softwareprogram 112, familiarity module 134 may generate five familiarityprofiles and an overall familiarity metric. A first of the fivefamiliarity profiles may indicate the user's familiarity with userinput, a second may indicate the user's familiarity with help usage, athird of may indicate the user's familiarity with error recovery, afourth may indicate the user's familiarity with task completion, and afifth may indicate a familiarity with tutorial completion. Familiaritymodule 134 can generate the user's overall familiarity metric by usingthe five familiarity profiles.

Customization module 136 represents program functionality forcustomizing software programs 112. A “customization,” as used herein,refers to a modification to a UI graphical element of a particularsoftware program 112, a modification to instructional content of theparticular software program 112, and/or another modification applied tothe particular software program 112, based on a user's familiarityprofile for the particular software program 112.

Customization module 136 can reference a user's overall familiaritymetric for a particular software program 112 in a storage repository ofcomputer system 130 to determine an extent to customize the particularsoftware program 112. For example, customization module 136 mayreference a user's first and second overall familiarity metric for afirst software program 112 and second software program 112,respectively. In this example, the user's first overall familiaritymetric may be greater than the user's second overall familiarity metric,whereby customization module 136 determines that the second softwareprogram 112 may require more customization compared to the firstsoftware program 112.

In this embodiment, customization module 136 identifies one or morecustomizations to apply to a particular software program 112 for a userof client computer system 110, based on the user's familiarity profilesfor the particular software program 112. For example, customizationmodule 136 can provide additional instructional content via tooltips,tutorials, additional menus or other additional UI graphical elements ina particular software program 112 for users having low familiarity withthe particular software program 112. Alternatively, customization module136 can remove instructional content from the particular softwareprogram 112 for users having high familiarity with the particularsoftware program 112.

In one example, customization module 136 may determine that a user haslow familiarity with user input interactions on a particular softwareprogram 112, based on a user's familiarity profile for user inputinteractions. Customization module 136 can provide additionalinstructional content describing faster methods of user input for theparticular software program 112, such as user input shortcuts. Inanother example, customization module 136 may determine that a user hashigh familiarity with user input interactions on a particular softwareprogram 112, based on a user's familiarity profile for user inputinteractions. Customization module 136 can remove additionalinstructional content, such that the user with high familiarity withuser input interactions is not presented with instructional content thatis already known by the user.

In one example, customization module 136 may determine that a user haslow familiarity with help usage interactions on a particular softwareprogram 112, based on a user's familiarity profile for help usageinteractions. Customization module 136 can provide additionalinstructional content describing how to properly navigate help menus forthe particular software program 112. In another example, customizationmodule 136 may determine that a user has high familiarity with helpusage interactions on a particular software program 112, based on auser's familiarity profile for help usage interactions. Customizationmodule 136 can remove additional instructional content, such that theuser with high familiarity with help usage interactions is not presentedwith instructional content that is already known by the user, or canprovide additional instructional content describing more advanced helpusage functions.

In one example, customization module 136 may determine that a user haslow familiarity with error recovery interactions on a particularsoftware program 112, based on a user's familiarity profile for errorrecovery interactions. Customization module 136 can provide additionalinstructional content describing how to properly perform error recoveryin the particular software program 112. In another example,customization module 136 may determine that a user has high familiaritywith error recovery interactions on a particular software program 112,based on a user's familiarity profile for help usage interactions.Customization module 136 can remove additional instructional content,such that the user with high familiarity with error recoveryinteractions is not presented with instructional content that is alreadyknown by the user, or can provide additional instructional contentdescribing more advanced error recovery functions.

In one example, customization module 136 may determine that a user haslow familiarity with task completion interactions on a particularsoftware program 112, based on a user's familiarity profile for taskcompletion interactions. Customization module 136 can provide additionalinstructional content describing how to properly perform more advancedtasks and/or faster methods for performing basic tasks in the particularsoftware program 112. In another example, customization module 136 maydetermine that a user has high familiarity with task completioninteractions on a particular software program 112, based on a user'sfamiliarity profile for task completion interactions. Customizationmodule 136 can remove additional instructional content, such that theuser with high familiarity with task completion interactions is notpresented with instructional content that is already known by the user.

In one example, customization module 136 may determine that a user haslow familiarity with tutorial completion interactions on a particularsoftware program 112, based on a user's familiarity profile for tutorialcompletion interactions. Customization module 136 can provide additionalinstructional content describing how to properly complete a tutorial inthe particular software program 112, an option to recomplete thetutorial, or provide a modified tutorial that focuses on the user'sdeficiencies. In another example, customization module 136 may determinethat a user has high familiarity with tutorial completion interactionson a particular software program 112, based on a user's familiarityprofile for tutorial completion interactions. Customization module 136can remove an option to participate in a tutorial for the user havinghigh familiarity with tutorial completion interactions.

In another embodiment, customization module 136 may transmit a user'soverall familiarity metric and a user's familiarity profiles for aparticular software program 112, to developers of the particularsoftware program 112. The developers may use the received overallfamiliarity metric and familiarity profiles as feedback to addresspotential issues with the particular software program 112. Accordingly,customization module 136 may receive customizations from a developer ofa particular software program 112, whereby customization module 136applies the received customizations to the particular software program112.

In yet another embodiment, customization module 136 may customize aparticular software program 112, based on a user's familiarity profilefor another software program 112 that is related to the particularsoftware program 112. For example, customization module 136 maycustomize a picture sharing application for a user, based on the user'sfamiliarity profiles for the picture sharing. In this example, if theuser downloads a related software program 112 (e.g., another picturesharing application), customization module 136 can automaticallycustomize the newly downloaded related software program 112, based onthe user's previously generated familiarity profiles for first picturesharing application.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating operational steps for generating anoverall familiarity metric for a particular software program 112, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Monitoringmodule 132 monitors interaction dimensions for each category ofinteraction performed by a user on the particular software program 112(step 202). Monitoring module 132 can store the interaction dimensioninformation for subsequent processing. Familiarity module 134 uses thestored interaction dimension information to generate a familiarityprofile for each type of interaction (step 204). For example,familiarity module 134 can generate one familiarity profile for each offive categories of interaction (e.g., user input, help usage, errorrecovery, task completion, and tutorial completion). Familiarity module134 uses the user's familiarity profiles to generate a user's overallfamiliarity metric for the particular software program 112 (step 206).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operational steps for monitoringinteraction dimensions for a category of interactions performed by auser on a particular software program 112, in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention. Monitoring module 132 monitors atyping accuracy of the user (step 302). For example, a monitored typingaccuracy for the user may be 71%. Monitoring module 132 monitors atyping speed of the user (step 304). For example, a monitored typingspeed for the user may be 80 words per minute. Monitoring intervalmonitors a user's method of typing (step 306). For example, the user mayuse conventional user input instead of taking advantage of predictivetext. Monitoring module 132 stores the interaction dimension informationfor subsequent analysis in a storage repository of computer system 130(step 308).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for generating overall familiarity metric 450,in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, familiarity profiles 410 include user input 412, help usage414, error recovery 416, task completion 418, and tutorial completion420. Familiarity module 134 applies weighting parameters 430 to each offamiliarity profiles 410, such that weighting 432 is applied to userinput 412, weighting 434 is applied to help usage 414, weighting 436 isapplied to error recovery 416, weighting 438 is applied to taskcompletion 418, and weighting 440 is applied to tutorial completion 420.For example, each of familiarity profiles 410 may be equally weighted.Accordingly, each of weighting parameters 430 applies a weight of 0.2 toeach of familiarity profiles 410. Once each of familiarity profiles 410is weighted with the respective weighting parameters 430, familiaritymodule 134 sums the weighted familiarity profiles 410, to generateoverall familiarity metric 450.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of internal and external components of thecomputer systems of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. It should be appreciated that FIG. 5 provides only anillustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. In general, the components illustrated in FIG. 5 arerepresentative of any electronic device capable of executingmachine-readable program instructions. Examples of computer systems,environments, and/or configurations that may be represented by thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 5 include, but are not limited to,personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thickclients, laptop computer systems, tablet computer systems, cellulartelephones (e.g., smart phones), multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems,mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computing environmentsthat include any of the above systems or devices.

Computer system 500 includes communications fabric 502, which providesfor communications between one or more processors 504, memory 506,persistent storage 508, communications unit 512, and one or moreinput/output (I/O) interfaces 514. Communications fabric 502 can beimplemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/orcontrol information between processors (such as microprocessors,communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheraldevices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example,communications fabric 502 can be implemented with one or more buses.

Memory 506 and persistent storage 508 are computer-readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 506 includes random access memory(RAM) 516 and cache memory 518. In general, memory 506 can include anysuitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media.Software is stored in persistent storage 508 for execution and/or accessby one or more of the respective processors 504 via one or more memoriesof memory 506.

Persistent storage 508 may include, for example, a plurality of magnetichard disk drives. Alternatively, or in addition to magnetic hard diskdrives, persistent storage 508 can include one or more solid state harddrives, semiconductor storage devices, read-only memories (ROM),erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROM), flash memories, or anyother computer-readable storage media that is capable of storing programinstructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 508 can also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive can be used for persistent storage 508.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage508.

Communications unit 512 provides for communications with other computersystems or devices via a network (e.g., network 120). In this exemplaryembodiment, communications unit 512 includes network adapters orinterfaces such as a TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless Wi-Fi interfacecards, or 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired or wirelesscommunication links. The network can comprise, for example, copperwires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. Software and data usedto practice embodiments of the present invention can be downloadedthrough communications unit 512 (e.g., via the Internet, a local areanetwork or other wide area network). From communications unit 512, thesoftware and data can be loaded onto persistent storage 508.

One or more I/O interfaces 514 allow for input and output of data withother devices that may be connected to computer system 500. For example,I/O interface 514 can provide a connection to one or more externaldevices 520, such as a keyboard, computer mouse, touch screen, virtualkeyboard, touch pad, pointing device, or other human interface devices.External devices 520 can also include portable computer-readable storagemedia such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magneticdisks, and memory cards. I/O interface 514 also connects to display 522.

Display 522 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and can be,for example, a computer monitor. Display 522 can also be an incorporateddisplay and may function as a touch screen, such as a built-in displayof a tablet computer.

Referring now to FIG. 6, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. The types of computing devices 54A-N shown in FIG. 7 areintended to be illustrative only and that cloud computing nodes 10 andcloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 7, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 6) is shown. The components,layers, and functions shown in FIG. 7 are intended to be illustrativeonly and embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. Asdepicted, the following layers and corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and customization system environment 96.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds). A cloud computing environment is serviceoriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, andsemantic interoperability. At the heart of cloud computing is aninfrastructure comprising a network of interconnected nodes.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles ofthe embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement overtechnologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: executing, by one or morecomputer processors, a software program, the software program requiringone or more physical interactions with a user through an input/output(I/O) device, wherein each of the one or more physical interactionsincludes respective predefined dimensions indicating a proficiency inperforming one of the one or more physical interactions; tracking, bythe one or more computer processors, the one or more physicalinteractions; generating, by the one or more computer processors, afamiliarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactionsbased on the respective predefined dimensions for each of the one ormore physical interactions, wherein the familiarity profiles includeuser input, help usage, error recovery, task completion, and tutorialcompletion; applying, by the one or more computer processors, aweighting parameter to the familiarity profile for each of the one ormore physical interactions to generate an overall familiarity metricindicating an overall proficiency with the software program, a relatedsoftware program, and an extent of customization for the softwareprogram; customizing, by the one or more computer processors, thesoftware program based on the familiarity profile for each of the one ormore physical interactions; executing, by the one or more computerprocessors, a second software program, the second software programrequiring one or more physical interactions with the user through theI/O device; determining, by the one or more computer processors, whetherthe second software program is related to the first software program;and responsive to determining that the second software program isrelated to the software program, customizing, by the one or morecomputer processors, the second software program based on thefamiliarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactionsfor the software program.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:generating, by the one or more computer processors, the overallfamiliarity metric based on the familiarity profile for each of the oneor more physical interactions, indicating an overall proficiency withthe software program, a related software program, and an extent ofcustomization for the software program.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the customization for the software program includes at least oneof: providing instructional content, removing instructional content, andmodifying a graphical element of a user interface (UI) of the softwareprogram.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more physicalinteractions include: user input interactions, help usage interactions,error recovery interactions, task completion interactions, and tutorialcompletion interactions.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thepredefined dimensions for the user input interactions include: a typingspeed, a typing accuracy, and a number of typing shortcuts performed. 6.The method of claim 5, further comprising: processing, by the one ormore computer processors, information describing the predefineddimensions for the user input interactions with the software program;generating, by the one or more computer processors, the familiarityprofile for the user input interactions with the software program, basedon the processed information describing the predefined dimensions forthe user input interactions with the software program; and responsive todetermining that the familiarity profile for the user input interactionswith the software program indicates a low proficiency for user inputinteractions with the software program, providing, by the one or morecomputer processors, additional instructional content for performinguser input interactions with the software program.
 7. A computer programproduct comprising: one or more computer readable storage media andprogram instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storagemedia, the program instructions comprising: program instructions toexecute a software program, the software program requiring one or morephysical interactions with a user through an input/output (I/O) device,wherein each of the one or more physical interactions includesrespective predefined dimensions indicating a proficiency in performingone of the one or more physical interactions; program instructions totrack the one or more physical interactions; program instructions togenerate a familiarity profile for each of the one or more physicalinteractions based on the respective predefined dimensions for each ofthe one or more physical interactions, wherein the familiarity profilesinclude user input, help usage, error recovery, task completion, andtutorial completion; program instructions to apply a weighting parameterto the familiarity profile for each of the one or more physicalinteractions to generate an overall familiarity metric indicating anoverall proficiency with the software program, a related softwareprogram, and an extent of customization for the software program;program instructions to customize the software program based on thefamiliarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactions;program instructions to execute a second software program, the secondsoftware program requiring one or more physical interactions with theuser through the I/O device; program instructions to determine whetherthe second software program is related to the first software program;and program instructions to, responsive to determining that the secondsoftware program is related to the software program, customize thesecond software program based on the familiarity profile for each of theone or more physical interactions for the software program.
 8. Thecomputer program product of claim 7, wherein the program instructionsstored on the one or more computer readable storage media furthercomprise: program instructions to generate the overall familiaritymetric based on the familiarity profile for each of the one or morephysical interactions, indicating an overall proficiency with thesoftware program, a related software program, and an extent ofcustomization for the software program.
 9. The computer program productof claim 7, wherein the customization for the software program includesat least one of: providing instructional content, removing instructionalcontent, and modifying a graphical element of a user interface (UI) ofthe software program.
 10. The computer program product of claim 7,wherein the one or more physical interactions include: user inputinteractions, help usage interactions, error recovery interactions, taskcompletion interactions, and tutorial completion interactions.
 11. Thecomputer program product of claim 10, wherein the predefined dimensionsfor the user input interactions include: a typing speed, a typingaccuracy, and a number of typing shortcuts performed.
 12. The computerprogram product of claim 11, wherein the program instructions stored onthe one or more computer readable storage media further comprise:program instructions to process information describing the predefineddimensions for the user input interactions with the software program;program instructions to generate the familiarity profile for the userinput interactions with the software program, based on the processedinformation describing the predefined dimensions for the user inputinteractions with the software program; and program instructions to,responsive to determining that the familiarity profile for the userinput interactions with the software program indicates a low proficiencyfor user input interactions with the software program, providingadditional instructional content for performing user input interactionswith the software program.
 13. A computer system comprising: one or morecomputer processors; one or more computer readable storage media;program instructions stored on the computer readable storage media forexecution by at least one of the one or more processors, the programinstructions comprising: program instructions to execute a softwareprogram, the software program requiring one or more physicalinteractions with a user through an input/output (I/O) device, whereineach of the one or more physical interactions includes respectivepredefined dimensions indicating a proficiency in performing one of theone or more physical interactions; program instructions to track the oneor more physical interactions; program instructions to generate afamiliarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactionsbased on the respective predefined dimensions for each of the one ormore physical interactions, wherein the familiarity profiles includeuser input, help usage, error recovery, task completion, and tutorialcompletion; program instructions to apply a weighting parameter to thefamiliarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactions togenerate an overall familiarity metric indicating an overall proficiencywith the software program, a related software program, and an extent ofcustomization for the software program; program instructions tocustomize the software program based on the familiarity profile for eachof the one or more physical interactions; program instructions toexecute a second software program, the second software program requiringone or more physical interactions with the user through the I/O device;program instructions to determine whether the second software program isrelated to the first software program; and program instructions to,responsive to determining that the second software program is related tothe software program, customize the second software program based on thefamiliarity profile for each of the one or more physical interactionsfor the software program.
 14. The computer system of claim 13, whereinthe program instructions stored on the one or more computer readablestorage media further comprise: program instructions to generate theoverall familiarity metric based on the familiarity profile for each ofthe one or more physical interactions, indicating an overall proficiencywith the software program, a related software program, and an extent ofcustomization for the software program.
 15. The computer system of claim13, wherein the customization for the software program includes at leastone of: providing instructional content, removing instructional content,and modifying a graphical element of a user interface (UI) of thesoftware program.
 16. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the oneor more physical interactions include: user input interactions, helpusage interactions, error recovery interactions, task completioninteractions, and tutorial completion interactions.
 17. The computersystem of claim 16, wherein the predefined dimensions for the user inputinteractions include: a typing speed, a typing accuracy, and a number oftyping shortcuts performed.